The One Who Holds The Gun
by Kun-kyokai-dono
Summary: Naruto. A boy who was convicted of first degree murder is saved by the most unlikely group and now is being forced to go on a suicide mission to save his home planet...and the galaxy.
1. Chapter 1

I know I haven't done a lot of work lately with my other work, but I can't bring myself to write it. I'm sorry everyone but when you're writing a book that is so far behind the original piece of work, it's hard to motivate yourself to write it. But anyway I'm starting anew and my other piece is being auctioned to the market and is up for adoption! Well anyway Here is in my. Fairly unoriginal story that I will just enjoy writing for a while… Btw. This is basically a Narutoxeverygirl on the Normandy. It's not a harem, but it'll be kinda like a competition. Funny right?

The One Who Holds the Gun

Chapter 1 – The Boy In the Strange Place

"Probe launched."

Commander John Shepard looked over the galaxy map while standing on the CIC. The Probe landed on the planet that an almost exact replica of Earth. EDI's computerized voice appeared over the intercom.

"Anomaly detected, Commander."

Shepard frowned. "Joker, prepare a shuttle for us. I'll be going in. Anything different about this planet that we should prepare for?"

Jeff 'Joker' Moreau's voice cackled above Shepard. "Just prepare yourself as you would for Earth, Commander. You might want to pack an extra sweater."

Shepard shook his head, but walked off, "Joker, call for Tali and Jack to meet up at the shuttle to be launched. Tell them to bring combat preparations."

"Aye-aye, Commander."

The shuttle landed fairly peacefully. If you think crash landing is peaceful onto a planet that they had not a first clue about… Shepard looked at the shuttle in barely contained annoyance. He put his hand up to his ear to contact Joker.

"Joker, what the hell just happened to our shuttle!"

"It seems that there is some strange energy shield around this planet. It's strange. There has never been an energy force like this one. It doesn't mesh well with the technology. You better keep your guns ready, Commander." Joker responded, sounding confused.

Shepard looked around the clearing, which was covered with trees. He heard a grunt and saw Jack getting up off the ground. He went to her and tried to help her up, she pulled away, almost angrily. She glared at him, "Don't. I don't need your help."

Shepard frowned, "Sorry, just making sure you're okay."

Jack said nothing as she pulled her tattooed body off the ground. She looked around also, and scowled. Shepard ignored her scowl and looked for Tali. Shepard whirled around in a frantic.

"Tali! Where are you?"

"I'm over here, Commander."

Shepard turned towards the voice, face in slight worry. Tali walked around the wreckage, holding her head. She walked up to John. "It appears to me that I'm okay. But I might have to do a suit check just to make sure nothing is punctured or invaded."

John nodded, waving towards her. "Take your time, Tali. We wouldn't want you sick or anything."

Tali smiled. Or what appeared to be a smile since you couldn't see her face. "It's fine, Commander. I don't think anything is really damaged. We should continue on and try to find some civilization."

Shepard nodded, looked over at Jack who stood among herself, looking bored. She was frowning. Shepard sighed, "Guess we're going on."

He put his hand up to his earphone, "Joker, send the other shuttle in about an hour."

"It'll take a little bit to try and calibrate the shuttles to work with the planet's energy field. But we'll send one as soon as we can."

Shepard closed the link and drew his weapon. He looked over at the other two and walked off, hoping to find a some friendly people.

Loud noises and shouting was heard threw out the forest. The Shepard's squad continued forward for a little over an hour. They haven't found much. Until they heard the voices, they walked to the edge of the forest and walked out into a clearing where almost the biggest wall they have ever seen blocked everything in their view from all they way around and up into the sky.

"Oh Keelah…." Tali breathed out as she saw the wall.

Jack frowned, "Well looks like there is something here…"

Shepard waved his hand off to the side. "Let's keep moving."

The three of them continued walking along the wall hoping to find some sort of entrance. As they began to loose their hope they saw gates in head of them. Suspiciously they held their guns up but crept forward until they were at the side of the gates. Tali went through first. No one was guarding the gates, as it seemed as though the attention was directed toward the center to the town where a giant crowd of people stood shouting and waving fist in the air. There was a stage with a few men on it. A couple stood off to the right looking passively over the crowd, they were old and were wearing something closely related to robes.

What caught their eye, though, was a young man. Kneeling on the ground, his hands handcuffed behind his back. He had long blond hair with red streaks running through it. He was wearing tattered and dirty clothes. They were best described as rags. They couldn't see his face, due to him looking at the stage floor. On the left of the blonde-haired man, was a group of what looked like soldiers. They were serving as crowd control over the situation.

Jack's eyes narrowed, "It looks like…a trial…or an execution."

Tali made a groan type noise, "Well, let's hope it's just a trial."

Shepard didn't say anything. He merely watched as a…busty…blonde woman walked onto the stage. She had navy blue capris on, with a green jacket over top. Her hair was almost bleach blonde, and it was pulled back into two low pigtails. She looked at the man kneeling on the ground with something closely related to pity.

She held up her hands for silence. The crowd obeyed and quieted down quickly. Shepard blinked at the power and respect this woman had over the crowd. The blonde woman looked over the crowd.

"As you may have known already. We are here to hold the trial and possible execution of this man…Uzumaki Naruto."

Shepard blinked as he realized they were speaking in a different language. He looked down at his omni-tool as is translated the speech for him. Tali and Jack had also figured this out, for they also noticed that their omni-tools had kicked in. Shepard looked back up to the woman.

"As we all know Uzumaki Naruto is a hero to this village. He has saved it multiple times, but now he is being convicted by two member's of the council for first degree murder against…Uchiha Sasuke."

The woman had sent the most vicious glare she could muster at the old couple off to the side. They had merely raised their head, ignoring the glare. The woman looked back over the crowd.

"Uchiha Sasuke had betrayed his village long before Naruto had made his name known across the lands. Naruto, in order to protect the people he loved, had killed Uchiha Sasuke and brought back his head in proof of doing so. By doing this action he was accused by Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura of killing not only the future Hokage of Konoha, but the hero this village so deserved. This accusation is in complete and total wrong. Uchiha Sasuke was a traitor and was ordered by all of the Konohagakure Shinobi to kill on sight or flee. Uzumaki Naruto, who had spent one year in solitude confinement with no human contact outside of his daily feedings, is on trial for a petty grudge."

Shepard was taken aback. Expecting the man, this…Naruto…to be a murderer. Someone who had deserved his punishment. Instead, he was a hero to these people. And he so did not deserve the punishment he received, especially without a trial.

Tali looked over at Shepard, "Commander…I know this is foreign politics, but I feel as though that man is in the wrong. We should help in some way."

Jack scoffed, "Even though I hate getting all mushy mushy about this shit…I can't help but agree with Facemask over there. I know all to well what it feels to be him…"

Shepard looked forward, thinking. He turned to both of them, a smile in place. "Well then let's be heard at this trial…shall we?"

Shepard turned around and started pushing threw the crowd, Jack and Tali following. Shepard got to the front when he shouted over all the yelling, he directed his question to the blonde woman.

"Excuse me, miss. But what exactly is going on here?"

The blonde woman looked at him, held her hand over the crowd for silence. She looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. The crowd quieted.

"And you are…"

Shepard cleared his throat, "I am Commander John Shepard, former Spectre of the Citadel Council. This is Jack on my right and Tali'Zorah Vas Neemah on my left. My crew and I detected an anomaly from this world so we went to investigate it. A strange energy field had left me and my squad members here. We wandered around for any sign of civilization. And we can across this. But what we don't understand is why you are setting up your most prestigious hero for an execution…"

The blonde woman looked at Shepard as if he were an idiot, "I'm sorry…Shepard-taichou. But I believe I had said that this was a trial…not an execution."

Shepard was very taken aback. "_She's looking at me as if I'm an idiot…I like her!" _ Shepard smirked.

"Well, I apologize miss…"

"Tsunade, I am the leader of Konohagakure. The village that you are currently trespassing in…I am the Hokage."

Shepard cleared his throat, feeling the awkwardness of his situation, "Well, I'm sorry, Miss Tsunade. But what proof is there that this young man is guilty of punishment? If this is a public trial, it looks as though the people are the judges. And I believe that this man is innocent of all charges."

Tsunade smirked, about to say something very intelligent when the accusers stepped forward in anger.

Koharu glared at Tsunade, "Tsunade! You can't accept the vote from a foreigner! He is not one of us so his opinion does not matter in this trial!"

Tsunade turned around and gave Koharu an icy look, almost asking her to challenge her authority. Tsunade spoke up, "I will be addressed as Hokage-sama to you, councilmen Koharu…and I have the final say in this matter. Because this man…Commander John Shepard and his friends…is part of the public crowd at this moment…his vote counts. Uzumaki Naruto is innocent of all his charges."

Tsunade walked over to Naruto, put her hand on his blue handcuffs…and literally sucked them into her hand. Naruto's hands dropped to the stage floor, resting there. He brought them up to his face and for the first time ever, he looked up.

Shepard, Jack, and Tali all blinked in shock. He was fairly handsome, despite the hairy beard on his face. His blue eyes where kind and had this warmth to them that allowed anyone to trust him instantly. Tsunade smiled and walked over to the Normandy trio. She bowed slightly.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that helped."

Shepard smiled and bowed his head a little, he looked at the young man in front of him and knelt down to his height. He smiled warmly at the Naruto character.

"Hello, my name is John Shepard. Do you require assistance?"

Naruto said nothing for a bit, studying Shepard with a critical eye, but slowly a smile crept across his face like a caterpillar. Naruto shook his head, "No…I don't need your help, but I appreciate what you did for me."

Naruto tried standing, he struggled a bit. John stood up and held out his hand for Naruto to use. Naruto looked at it, but then grabbed it. He used the hand to sturdy himself as he stood to his full height. Naruto was as easily as tall as Shepard was. Naruto smiled at him, showing brilliantly white teeth. Shepard looked over at Tali.

"Tali, heal him up would you?"

Tali nodded and walked up to Naruto, "Hello, Naruto. My name is Tali'Zorah Vas Neemah. But you can just call me Tali. I'm going to check up on you to make sure you okay…okay?"

Naruto smiled at her and closed his eyes, "Do whatever you need to Tali-chan."

Tali smiled under her mask, while she did her necessary procedures. Meanwhile Tsunade and Shepard were talking. Shepard looked at the crowd that had dispersed and gone back to doing their everyday things. Shepard looked over at Tsunade.

"Why exactly did they charge him with such a stupid crime? Especially since it was easily disprovable?"

Tsunade sighed, looking over at Tali and Naruto, who both seemed to be laughing and getting along very well. The nearby girl with the tattoos was smiling watching the two, but trying to hide her smile. Tsunade looked back at Shepard.

"Naruto has had a very complicated life, and let's just say some people are very hard to change…"

Shepard frowned, not liking the lack of answer he received but accepted it. Tsunade didn't look at him, but somehow he knew that she was being completely serious with him. "You said that you came from the sky, did you not?"

Shepard watched some nearby people argue about what to eat for dinner. "Yes, I did."

"Then you will have to come with me to my office to discuss future matters."

Shepard looked over at her but nodded, he looked at Tali who was giggling while Naruto grinned from ear to ear. Then he looked at Jack who was smirking under her breath. He caught both of their attention and motioned for them to follow him. As he walked he couldn't help but notice that Naruto had walked a bit behind them, looking at all the different buildings…How could anyone judge him? He was in solitary confinement for over a year…

When the small group reached the office, Tsunade closed the door and allowed them to get comfortable in the small room. She sat down in a chair in front of them crossing her hands together in front of her face. She gave the trio a serious look.

"Explain."

One word held so much authority over them. Shepard knew that his rank as a former Spectre held no meaning here on this world. So he told her everything, from when they found out about the Collectors how they ended up in this position that they were in currently. Naruto was leaning against the wall behind them. Listening carefully. When Shepard finished he stood, waiting patiently for Tsunade to speak. He didn't have to wait long.

"So you believe that everyone in this galaxy will somehow be utterly destroyed and you and your crew are on a mission to protect the galaxy?"

Shepard nodded, "Yes."

"And you and your team are basically going on a suicide mission, that not one living soul from thousands of years had come back alive from?"

Shepard didn't say anything, but looked down. Naruto's mouth opened in shock and looked over at the trio with pity. He would never wish to go on a mission like that. And he knows his Tsunade-baachan wouldn't ever send him on one.

Tsunade sighed, she massaged her temple. She had no idea what she could say or even do about this. It wasn't even her world's problem…at the moment that is. Tsunade looked at the three of them. She could tell that Shepard was a lot like Naruto. A natural born leader. Just that aura about him…made you want to follow him to the end of the world. Tali was a nervous but strong woman…if she was a woman. And the girl named Jack…was just completely disregarding of everything.

Before Tsunade could say anything she saw Shepard reach his hand up to his ear and she heard a voice in the room.

"Commander…uh. There is a platoon of Geth, heading straight towards you. Their a few clicks from where you are. North."

Shepard responded to the voice, "Gotcha Joker, hurry up with that shuttle. We'll need it. Soon."

Tsunade stood up, and Naruto looked up urgently. Tsunade spoke, "Intruders?"

Shepard shook his head, "No. An invasion. It's the Geth. They'll kill everyone and anyone. I'm going to need to borrow a few of your best troops. We can take care of this problem."

Tsunade nodded, looked at Naruto, and smirked. She reached into her office desk and pulled out a scroll. "Naruto will go with you. Right Naruto?"

Naruto grinned under his busy beard. "Of course I would Tsunade-baachan."

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but the look in her eye said that she was fond of the boy. She tossed the scroll to Naruto. Who caught it and looked confused. He looked up at her expectantly.

Tsunade smirked, "Just do what you do best Naruto. Make sure no one gets hurt. You'll need your old friend to help."

Naruto blinked in realization and grinned as he unrolled the scroll and unsealed the object inside. There a beautiful black katana appeared in his hand with a puff of smoke. The sheath was fairly ordinary, but the hand guard was pure gold in color. In an intricate pattern the hand guard had swirled around to the middle. Black tape was on the handle of the blade. Naruto took the scabbard off and threw it aside to show a pure black blade. No light reflected off of it at all. Carvings of foxes and wolves dancing was imbedded into the blade, near the base. Naruto grinned and swung it around a few times. Then it disappeared in a shatter of light. (think the way Sora gets rid of the Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts)

Naruto looked at them all and grinned, feeling whole once more. "I think that we can leave now, Shepard-taichou."

Shepard looked back at Tsunade, "You're only sending him?"

Tsunade chuckled while Naruto scowled at being disregarded so easily. Tsunade smiled at Shepard, "Trust me, commander. This boy is far enough for you to be able to handle the intruders."

Shepard frowned but begrudgingly believed her. He turned nodded at Naruto and headed out of the office, he quickly ran down the stairs with Jack and Tali in tow. When he got out the front door he saw Naruto leaning against the wall. He stopped suddenly, looked behind him at the stairs, then at Naruto. Shock was written all over his face. Naruto chuckled.

"Wipe that look off your face, old man. We've got some business to attend."

Tali and Jack both felt their jaws relax as a fly flew into Jack's mouth. No one has ever spoken to Commander Shepard like that before…NO ONE….Jack grinned.

"I think I like this place…"

Shepard looked at her as he recovered from his shock. He shook his head and chased after the already sprinting Naruto. They quickly realized that they'll never catch the boy. Shepard growled, slightly annoyed.

Jack whistled, "Wow, I wonder where they picked up this kid. I mean honestly."

Tali chuckled, "I don't know but let's make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble. We need to go faster."

They tried to pick up their pace but they were already going pretty fast. When they came to the area where Joker had described the Geth would be, they saw the platoon attacking. The trio drew their guns and was about to fire when a blur shot out of the forest ant cut the legs off of a few of the Geth. Shocked Shepard looked to the other two.

"Is that Naruto?"

Just as he said that, said blonde-haired and bearded man was standing in front of them in a flash of yellow. His incessant grin present.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? An invitation?"

Jack growled, "Hell no!"

Naruto grinned again at her, "Then pick up your pace, geez you guys are slow."

Jack raced to cover behind a tree and started firing at the Geth. Naruto however grinned at the other two then disappeared in another flash of yellow. They suddenly saw him behind one of the Geth Infiltrators. He had his hand up to his mouth as he blew. Fire shot out of his mouth and engulfed the Geth. It stood no chance as is blew up in shrapnel. But before that Naruto was gone again and once again behind another Geth, he had his foot cocked back and swung it not only taking the head off the Geth but also knocking the Geth behind the victim of Naruto down. Naruto appeared once again above the downed Geth and stabbed it in the flashlight eye bulb with his sword, effectively killing it.

Naruto once again disappeared swinging his sword in a wide arc while shouting, "Wind Slice! (not very original, don't be hating)"

Suddenly what seemed like an invisible wire sliced through all the remaining Geth and cut them all in half. He landed fairly gracefully on the ground and rested his blade on his shoulder. He tapped his foot. Almost looking annoyed.

"Is that all?"

Suddenly an explosion made Naruto fly forward and land on his face, shrapnel littered his back. Tali shouted, "Naruto!"

Shepard swore, "Damn."

Shepard charged forward, taking out his rockets as he took cover behind a tree. He poked his head around the tree and saw the Geth Colossus walking forward, getting ready to shoot the downed Naruto. Shepard growled and pulled the trigger on the rocket launcher, bracing himself for the kick. A Rocket shot out of his weapon and nailed the colossus right in the beak. The colossus turned it's attention towards Shepard who swore and took cover again just as another explosion shook the tree.

Shepard looked around and swore once more, "_Damn. This tree won't hold much longer."_

Shepard looked over at Naruto to see if he was okay, but to his shock he saw the boys slowly get to his feet, blood on his back from the explosion. Naruto stood up and wasn't grinning or smiling at all. He glared at the colossus hatefully. Naruto cracked his neck. The colossus turned it's attention back to Naruto who was baring his teeth.

"That hurt, you bitch."

Shepard watched with utter shock as Naruto threw a knife with some sort of paper attached to it, straight at the colossus. The knife exploded right in front of the colossus's face, distracting it. Naruto was gone by the time it got together it's business. Shepard watched as Naruto appeared right under the colossus, holding a strange blue ball in his hand. Naruto thrust the blue ball upward into the colossus's stomach. If it has one. The blue ball tore through the armor and forced it into the air. Naruto disappeared once again and appeared above the colossus's head. He was holding his sword above his head.

With as much conviction as he possibly could muster Naruto did a front flip and on his second flip he sliced his sword down hard. A purplish color shot from his sword, following the path the sword would have made in a wide arc. The purple energy sliced right threw the colossus. Naruto landed on half of the head and kicked off again landing a little bit behind the falling Geth, crouched. When the Geth hit the ground, it exploded in a purplish color and in Geth…blood…

Naruto stood up and grinned, totally pumped for his awesome move. Shepard looked around for any remaining enemies before heading out to Naruto. He stopped in front of the blonde-haired man and looked at him in awe. A breathless Tali and Jack came up behind Shepard, both wearing the same expression.

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his neck, an old habit. Shepard smirked and held out his hand for Naruto to shake.

"Ya done well, kid."

Naruto looked at the hand, smiled and shook it. He gave the commander a firm shake, "Not like I got any help from any of you guys."

He grinned showing that he was teasing. John laughed, Tali giggled behind her hand, Jack chuckled but took the challenge.

"How were we supposed to do anything when you went all berserk like that? Geez, Blondie, if I'm going to work with you, you're going to have to learn to share."

Naruto looked at Jack, realizing that that was the first time she had spoken to him, he smirked and took a step towards her. Jack narrowed her eyes, Naruto grinned at her, "Blondie?"

Jack smirked, "Want another name? I bet I could make it more insulting then that one. Consider that me being nice to you."

Naruto laughed, it was tender and like music. The trio had seen him smile, smirk, and grin almost 90 percent of the time but they haven't heard him laugh. Tali and Jack decided that they both liked it. Although neither would ever admit it. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest.

"Should we get back to Tsunade-baachan?"

Shepard nodded, "Let's go."

Naruto held out his arm. "Hold on to me and I'll get us there really fast. Though it'll feel really weird…"

Hesitantly Shepard grabbed hold of his shoulder. Jack did the same with the other shoulder. Tali however didn't know where to grab. She shyly walked forward.

"Um…"

Naruto smirked at her, winking, "Here you can just hold my hand."

If they could see under Tali's helmet they would see her grinning. Tali grabbed hold of his hand and Naruto couldn't help but notice that she only had three fingers… Naruto shook his head, and smirked at them.

"Now this will feel kinda strange but whatever happens don't let go."

The outer space trio frowned but that was the only warning before they felt themselves be sucked into nothingness. They could feel their body be compressed and expanded. A heavy tingling all over their body took control over their senses. It felt as thought it lasted forever, but just as soon as it happened. It ended.

Naruto poofed in front of Tsunade grinning like a mad man. However the other three were kneeling on the ground, gasping for air and twitching in random places. Tsunade looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at Tsunade and grinned.

A paper weight flew at Naruto's head, and hit it head on. A mark formed on his head as Naruto fell to the ground. Shepard, and his squad recovered in time to see the object hit its mark directly. And Shepard couldn't help but think of how Naruto could easily defeat Geth, but couldn't dodge a simple paper weight. He shook his head. This Naruto character was indeed a strange one.

Tsunade sighed and turned to the other three. She looked at them expectantly, "How did it go? I take it everything went well?"

Shepard nodded, "It went much better, Tsunade. Naruto here had destroyed all of the Geth and I couldn't help but be very impressed with his skills."

Tsunade chuckled, "He has that affect on people, Shepard-san."

Shepard sighed, "And…because of what's going on with the galaxy and all…I would like for him to join my crew, Ma'am."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow while Jack and Tali looked at Shepard with shock. Naruto even allowed himself to look up at Shepard with a little interest.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, "Why?"

John looked at her with strength in his eyes. "Because he is the best fighter I have ever seen, and I need someone like him on my team. I need him."

Tsunade looked at him and closed her eyes for a moment. Naruto stood up. Tsunade barked Naruto's name out. The blonde stood at attention. Tsunade opened her eyes slowly.

"I am giving you a triple SSS-classed mission Naruto. It involves not only the safety of our world but the galaxy itself…I'm sorry that I'm doing this to you. But you need to lay low for a little bit to get the blood suckers off your back. I'm assigning you to the Normandy. You are to accompany him and his crew on his mission and help him complete it, no matter what the costs are! You are hereby under the command of Commander John Shepard-"

Naruto stepped forward, "But Baachan! It's a death trap!"

Tsunade raised her voice, "-Under the command of Commander John Shepard, you are to do as he says and orders at all times, Uzumaki-san! Do you understand your mission!"

Tsunade swiveled around in her chair facing the window, so she wouldn't have to look at Naruto. Naruto looked at the chair, his face shriveled by emotional pain. He took a shaky breath looked around. His eyes dropped. He breathed again. He stood up weakly, with no heart at all.

Her voice cracked through the silent air again, "I said, do you understand you mission, soldier!"

Naruto felt his chest tighten and he looked down at the floor, swallowing a lump in his throat. He was only 20 fucking years old…Naruto clenched his fists. He shut his eyes. And took another shaky breath.

"Hai, Hokage-sama…"

Naruto relaxed his posture and walked towards the door. He opened the door, but stopped when Tsunade's voice rang out.

"Go home and shave, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto stood at the door and looked at the back of the chair again, his face emotionless. He saw Tali look at him slightly sadly; Jack even was giving him a pitying look. Shepard looked like he almost regretted asking for Naruto to be on the team. Before Naruto could leave the room Shepard spoke up.

"The shuttle will arrive in one hour…Naruto. Bring gear for long-term battle…"

Naruto said nothing as he quietly closed the door. The Normandy trio's stare lingered a second longer than it could have. Tali felt a sorrow for the young man like no other. Shepard almost regretted asking. But with Naruto on his team, he has less of a chance of loosing someone on this mission. Jack sighed feeling like she understood him, and connected with Naruto perfectly.

Tsunade spoke again, her voice cracking, "Your team is dismissed, Commander."

Shepard said nothing, but saluted, and took his team to the gates they walked through, waiting for the shuttle and Naruto to arrive.

Shepard, Tali, and Jack were all waiting for the shuttle, and for our blonde-haired friend. They didn't have to wait long for one of them, as a poof of smoke alerted them of Naruto's arrival. All three of them blinked with complete surprise as they saw just how well Naruto can clean up.

Naruto's face was a little pale from being indoors for so long. He had three distinctive lines on his face, almost like whisker marks. His previously long hair was cut down to a shorter yet much more fashionable length. His hair was capable of defying gravity, and shot up and out, in almost every direction. He had two side bangs at the side of his face that framed it and made him look even more handsome. His hair still had the red streaks and his hair looked very…shiny. It wasn't the nasty greasy and grimy as it was before. Not it looked like a nice soft, fluffy and well taken care of head of hair.

Naruto's outfit was simple also, but he carried a backpack that probably contained all that he would need for a while inside of it. Naruto was wearing a pair of expensive looking black and white basketball shoes, dark blue jeans, with a white wife-beater on top. Over the wife beater was an orange jacket that had black strips running down the sleeves and sides of it. The jacket was zipped half way up.

Overall, Naruto looked like one hot and sexy man. Naruto smiled at the team, fully away of how uncomfortable his presence now made Tali and Jack. His ocean blue eyes were now visible, thanks to his awesome haircut. He smirked at them and gave a small mock bow.

"I believe I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, but you can call me Naruto."

He looked up at them with a charming smile. Tali blushed, and Jack smirked. Shepard chuckled. John stepped forward and held out his hand again. Naruto grasped it, firmly.

Shepard smiled at Naruto, "Welcome aboard the Normandy crew, Naruto."

Naruto smiled feeling a little bit better than he was only an hour ago. Naruto heard the shuttle land a few feet away from him. He looked over. The side of the shuttle opened up. And a voice politely spoke to the four of them.

"Please enter the shuttle so you may be departed to the Normandy, immediately."

Shepard gestured for the other's to get in first. Shepard hopped in soon after them. He looked up at the ceiling.

"EDI, gather the crew in the meeting hall. I have a new squad member I would like them all to meet."

EDI responded, "As you wish, sir."

Shepard looked at Naruto, "Now I know you really don't want to be here. But we need you're help. So I need you to do everything I ask of you. And if I tell you, that you are allowed to fight. Hold absolutely nothing back. Understood?"

Naruto was looking out the window as his village was getting smaller and smaller. He looked over at Shepard. A blank look on his face.

"Yes I understand."

Shepard nodded. Tali watched Naruto for a moment longer, seeing his pain. She put her hand on his shoulder. "The crew is going to love you. Just wait. And trust me. It's not as bad as you think, you might enjoy yourself."

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Tali and smiled, "Thanks, Tali-chan. That means a lot…"

"When was I supposed to be enjoying myself again, Tali-chan?"

Naruto whispered to Tali as the rest of the crew argued about him as if he weren't in the room. Tali looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't know they would act like this."

Naruto said nothing but listened to what they were saying. A black man that goes by the name Jacob Taylor was very convinced that Naruto shouldn't be on the ship at all much less the crew.

"He is a mercenary. He hurts people for money. I don't like or trust that. And besides! How old is he even?" Jacob put it…nicely.

"If the Commander believes that he is the best of the best they why should we turn him down? He'll only make our job easier. He'll stay because he is able to hold his own."

A turian that goes by the name Garrus Vakarian seemed to like Naruto being on the ship. He claimed that he trusted his long time friend's judgment and would back up the commander no matter what.

"I have to agree with Mr. Taylor on this subject. He is very young and we are unsure of what he is capable of. How can we even trust him?"

Miranda Lawson. Naruto found her to be totally hot and attractive in every way possible but he could tell that she was completely professional more than 100 percent of the time. Naruto liked a challenge when It came to women, but he could tell she would give him a run for his money.

"As long as he fights as well as Shepard said he did, I don't care if he's on this ship or not."

Grunt. Naruto was as neutral towards this guy as he was towards him. He felt as though he would be really awesome if he cracked the tough shell he always put up around him. Naruto shook his head.

"We find it logical to accept him into the crew."

Naruto looked at the replica of the thing he was destroying not but a day ago. Legion it was called…weird.

"I have no issue with this as long as he does not interfere with my studies."

Naruto had no idea what to think of the scientist. Mordin Solus. He just seemed really weird. Naruto shivered.

"Although he is but a child, I believe he will be a most valuable asset."

Samara. Naruto felt as though we was only a child compared to her. He had read everyone's data pads on the way up to the shuttle and found that her obsession with killing her daughter was a little…creepy…

"A challenge in the field of stealth is always welcomed, Naruto."

Thane Krios. Naruto couldn't help but like this guy. He seemed cool and awesome in everyway possible. Naruto smirked and was feeling slightly at home with this guy around. He kind of reminds him of Kakashi…Naruto shook his head. No thoughts of home…

Shepard sighed, and shook his head. Completely annoyed at the aurguing between his crew.

"EDI! Scan Naruto and give us an estimate of how logical my choice was."

Naruto suddenly was covered in a bright light that made him blinded for a little bit. A feminine voice came over the intercom in the transmitting room.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Unusually fit for a body of 20 years old. 2 percent body fat. Abnormal healing abilities. Abnormal energy sources. Eyesight is ten times better than perfection. Along with his ability to smell, touch, taste, and hear. He has above perfect coordination and his reflects are tenfold above the elite average of Alliance soldiers. Based on the information I have perceived I believe that accepting Uzumaki Naruto into your crew raised your chances of survival on your upcoming mission by almost 76.84 percent. It was 100 percent logical to accept him into your crew, Commander."

All was silent for a second. Naruto stood there awkwardly. Not understanding a single word that chick had just said. Naruto looked up at the ceiling, counting the tiles, trying to occupy his attention. Shepard himself didn't exactly know what to say because he simply didn't have anything to say. This boy was perfect in everyway possible. Shepard nodded and clapped his hands together, getting the attention of the crew.

"Alright! We have our answer! Naruto is staying. And he is going to be a valuable asset to this team. You're all dismissed."

They left one by one. Naruto couldn't help but notice that he had caught Miranda's eyes. Her sexy eyes looked at him skeptically, and unemotionally but he could see her cheeks redden the tiniest bit as she left the comm. Room. Naruto's own ocean blue eyes closed in exhaustion. He cracked his neck and knuckles as he sighed.

Shepard chuckled. "Come on. You need some rest. Follow me."

Naruto didn't argue with him at all. Naruto followed John around the Normandy and ended at a bedroom…type place. It looked like sleeping quarters actually for the whole crew. Shepard slapped one of the beds.

"This is where you can sleep. In this room. But tomorrow wake up at 0800 hours and meet me in the mess hall. Finished eating and dressed ready to go for the day. Your clothes are to the right of the bed. The showers are across the hall if you wish to take a shower. See you bright and early. Sleep tight."

Naruto watched him leave before he looked at his bed. His eyelids felt as though they were 800 pounds. Naruto yawned, and not even attempting to change out of his clothes he laid down on the bed and set his head on the pillow. He lay there for a few seconds before he reached in his bag and grabbed a scroll. Unsealing a picture from the scroll he set the scroll down and looked at the picture.

The picture was of him, Kakashi, Sakura, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. It was almost 5 years old. When Ero-sennin was still alive…Naruto smiled sadly and set the picture under his pillow. He then set his clock to wake up at 6:50 a.m. And with the last thought of his home village in his mind he fell asleep, with a heavy case of the homesickness.

Thanks for this guys! It's been awhile I know but I just couldn't do the other book anymore. I'm discontinueing it. If you want to use it, it's your's. I don't care. Really I don't. but any way good night cuz it's like three a.m. here. Sooooo nighty night. Hope you enjoyed!

Ja Ne!


	2. Chapter 2

Yo dawgs it's me again…wuz up? Nm nm sweet…haha I'm jk…ing. Right now my cat is sitting at the side of my moniter staring at everything I write soooooo it's a little weird I know. Haha Seems like everyone liked my first chapter! And yes. The very beginning part was a little bit taken from Naruto Effect. Not owned by me. But I went off in the direction that I wanted to see that book go off into. Also, no I wasn't going to do Zaeed and Kasumi simply because I have no idea what their about. I don't get connected to the internet with my xbox where I live so I can't download them. A review also told me that Naruto would totally hate both Tsunade and Shepard. Well if you think about it. I don't think Naruto is even capable of hating anyone. And I based the Naruto in my book off of my brother's personality, just cuz he's a fan also. But anyway. Naruto respects Tsunade too much to not do as she asks of him….sooo on with the story! I Don't own either Naruto or Mass Effect.

The One Who Holds the Gun

Chapter 2: Learning New Things

Naruto sat staring at the delicious looking food in front of him despite what the cook here had to….well cook with. He didn't exactly feel like doing much at the moment. He was feeling a little homesick. Naruto sighed and picked his fork up and stabbed the scrambled egg (with ham and cheese) and put it in his mouth. He sat back and sighed again. He looked at the clock on the wall. 7:53. Naruto sighed again and cracked his neck. He finished his breakfast and brought the plate over to the sink where he washed it and put it away.

Naruto walked over to the table again, waiting for the Commander to show up. Naruto frowned stretching his arms around and trying to get used to the uniform that the Normandy crew members had to wear. Well, most of them anyway. Shepard wore one, but that was almost it. Naruto sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"I see you put your uniform on."

Naruto peered over his shoulder and saw the Commander walking toward him. Naruto jumped out of his seat and bowed slightly. Shepard chuckled.

"At ease, soldier."

Naruto relaxed, putting his hands in his pockets. He smiled at the commander. Shepard waved a hand at Naruto's attire.

"I had it sent in and nuanced to accommodate your fighting style in case we were breached."

Naruto looked at him…face totally blank. Shepard thought for a second, then cringed. Resisting the urge to laugh he repeated what he said.

"I changed the color slightly so you can hide easier if we were attacked on the ship."

Naruto made that 'ahhhhh' noise showing that he understood what that meant. Naruto looked down at his uniform and noted that his was closer to a black color. It looked better than Shepard's. Naruto looked at the commander.

"Can I ask something?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He frowned. Naruto shook his head. "Nevermind."

Shepard shrugged. He turned and started walking away. He waved his hand for Naruto to follow.

"Walk and talk, Naruto."

Naruto scurried after him, he stepped in line as Shepard walked towards a seemingly random direction.

"Naruto. I have one serious issue to discuss with you. It involves the geth activity on your home planet." Shepard walked through one of the doorways into the comm. Room. He started typing on the keyboard in the room. He continued.

"I also have noticed your lack of knowledge outside of your world, so I'm going to have to teach you several things about…well everything. Back to the geth. How long were they there for?"

Naruto frowned as Shepard wasn't even looking at him. Naruto scratched his neck thinking. "Well, I've been in a cell for a while…I don't remember much outside of that year. But I faintly remember Konoha's ANBU fighting an invasion of some sorts the day I was locked up. Once you're in jail, people don't tend to keep you in the loop ya know?"

Shepard stopped typing and waved him to follow him again. Naruto walked next to the Commander.

"Well, sooner or later we're going to have to go back to your world and get that information. It could prove to be very useful to us. As for now…every day at 9 a.m. you will report to Miss Lawson to learn of the galaxy's customs. For now, I'm trying to allow people to complete some unfinished business. You know…like a last wish, before we head out to our mission. We'll stop on your planet and I'll allow you to do whatever it is you need finished. As for now…I have business to attend to. So if you may. Look around the ship."

Shepard finished his dialogue and turned towards Naruto. He smiled at the blonde.

"Try not to get into any trouble."

Shepard left without another word. Naruto watched him leave. He frowned and looked around the whole deck. Naruto chuckled. He shook his head and walked off to a random room. He turned a corner near the elevator and noticed the bathrooms. Naruto looked at a room across one of the bathrooms. He walked through the door. Inside was strange. Orange tubes to the left side of the room stood brightly. Naruto noticed that the room bent slightly to the left. And near the back of the bend was a table. Sitting at the table, with his back to the door was the Krios man.

Naruto put his hands up, "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude on you."

Thane's head turned. "No need to apologize. It's always nice to have company."

Naruto was about to leave when he said that. Naruto looked at him, confused. He walked forward slightly. He didn't say anything for a bit. The blonde haired sacrifice smiled sadly.

"As long as the company doesn't hate you that is."

Thane looked at Naruto from the corner of his eyes. Naruto turned towards the green drell and smiled. Thane looked forward. He shook his head.

"A conversation with someone matters not, just as long as your voice isn't wasted away."

Naruto leaned against the wall. "Tell that to the people at my home. I wasn't able to speak for a whole year. There was no one to talk to."

Thane kept his face blank. "Humans have a strange way of making their fellow humans feel unwanted."

Naruto shrugged. "I guess that's our way of thanking each other."

"For what?" said Thane.

Naruto smiled, "For the friends that other humans have given them."

"Friends…" Thane frowned.

Naruto walked over to the other side of the table and sat down. "Yeah, you know. Friends, the people who you can trust your life with. People you can talk about almost anything with. The people who you're not afraid of showing true emotions with. You know…friends?"

Thane frowned ever so slightly. Naruto tilted his head to the side. Genuinely curious.

"You don't have any friends?"

Thane shook his head. Naruto gasped slightly. He glared at the drell. Thane blinked.

Naruto stared at him hard. "You don't have anyone? Not even acquaintances?"

Thane smirked, "Of course I have acquaintances. I wouldn't have had business if I didn't. but I don't recall ever having a…friend."

Naruto looked at him, he sighed. Then he looked off to the side.

"Sucks doesn't it?"

Thane looked at Naruto who was studying the wall intently. "I have never truly thought about that…"

Naruto looked over at him, "I know what it feels like though. You may not have thought about it. But the thought has always lingered in the back of your mind."

Thane's eyes widened slightly as he suddenly went rigid. He studied Naruto's face, looking for something to show him that he was lying. Naruto smiled slightly.

"Hit that one on the head didn't I?"

Thane said nothing still. He opened his mouth and thought carefully about what he was going to say.

Slowly he started. "Why…are you telling me this?"

Naruto shrugged and put his hands behind his head, putting his feet on the table crossing them. He looked over at Thane with that infuriating bored look.

"Everyone needs friends. Especially when we're so close to dying."

Thane sighed and put his head in his hands. "It's too late for me to have friends. It won't matter anyway."

"It's never too late to have friends, Thane." Naruto said chuckling.

Thane looked at Naruto, a tiredness in his eyes. "Why?"

Naruto blinked, "I don't know. Friends just tend to come towards you. You just have to accept them. I don't know exactly why, some times there timing is really late."

Thane shook his head, "No. Why are you doing this?"

"I already told yo-" Naruto was interrupted.

"No. Not what you said for me. But why would you do this for you? What good could it bring you?"

Naruto scowled thinking. He was quiet for a long time. Then he took a deep breath. He looked straight into Thane's eyes.

"Because I know all to well what that feeling is. And it hurts beyond all words. I wouldn't ever wish anyone to have that kinda pain."

Thane searched skeptically in Naruto's eyes for some sort of joke. He found none. "For an assassin, you have absolutely no control over your emotions…you know that?"

Naruto laughed, "Between you and me, I never was really a hide back and wait till the action has died down. I'm more of a front line kinda fighter. But somehow I'm still assassin to many people."

Thane smiled, and released a small chuckle. He looked at Naruto, "Well…then how do I get friends? Where do I start?"

Naruto grinned foxily. His sharp fangs probing his gums slightly. "Well first off…I have to introduce myself."

Thane blinked, thoroughly confused. He was about to object when Naruto stood up and cleared his throat.

"Hello. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. And it would be my honor to be your first friend."

Naruto put his hand out. Thane looked awed at the young boy, unable to respond right away. He slowly stood up. Looked at the hand. Thane smiled ever so softly and took Naruto's hand and shook it. He looked at Naruto, a genuine smile on his face.

"Hello. My name is Thane Krios. And you have no idea what this means to me."

Naruto grin subsided into a small smile, "…yes I do…"

Thane let go of Naruto's hand and scratched his chin. "So exactly how do I make more friends?"

Naruto frowned, stepped back and studied Thane. He narrowed his eyes and then snapped his fingers. Well a grin and a raised eyebrow he beamed at Krios.

"Well first of all…you need to start being social."

Thane raised a hairless eyebrow. "Social?"

Naruto shrugged, waving his hand around a little bit. "Yeah, you know. Mingling, flirting, talking, enjoying yourself with other beings."

The green drell frowned, "I knew what that meant. But how?"

Naruto turned his body sideways and pointed to the door, grinning. Thane blinked, getting the jist of it. Thane walked forward towards the door, Naruto closely following. The pair walked out of the door and to the right heading towards the mess hall. When they got there, Kelly Chambers was sitting down ready to eat. Naruto grinned and gave Thane the smallest push towards her. Thane turned towards Naruto and glared.

Naruto smirked, "Gotta start somewhere. And with a girl! That's basically hitting two birds with one stone."

Thane shook his head, "I don't understand the human metaphors but …"

Naruto smiled, "Everyone gets nervous somepoint in time, your time is now."

Thane gulped looked at Kelly and then Naruto. Naruto nodded. Thane took a deep breath stood straighter then walked towards Kelly. Naruto grinned. Thane walked towards Kelly he sat down across from her. She looked up, and smiled. Naruto watched as Thane greeted her formally. The two of them started a small conversation. Naruto chuckled shaking his head. Kelly looked over towards the cook asking for some seconds. Thane quick gave a glance at Naruto who gave the drell a thumbs up.

Naruto grinned foxily. He watched the two converse for a little bit before he turned to go, trying to seem like he was just passing.

"What were you doing?"

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin as he whirled around looking his attacker right in the eye. He was pleasantly surprised when Miranda was standing in front of him, one hand on her hip the other hanging down the side. She had her head raised expectantly, looking slightly down at Naruto. Naruto blinked, looked over her shoulder at Thane, who completely forgot about him, then looked at her again and gave an embarrassed chuckle.

He stood up and nervously scratched the back of his neck, Miranda stood there waiting patiently. Naruto chuckled, "Well…I was making Thane…social?"

Now that he said that he truly realized just how stupid he sounded, he winced noticeably, cursing himself for the stupid answer. He may not have any feelings for Miranda but he couldn't deny how hot he thought she was.

Miranda raised an eyebrow, "You were making an assassin, who specializes in being unseen,…a social being?"

Naruto looked anywhere but her, feeling his face heat up. He nodded, "Yup."

"And how is that coming along for you?" Miranda said smirking.

Naruto blinked. He looked over at Thane, who was smiling softly then at the giggling Kelly. He looked back at Miranda.

"Pretty good. I think."

Miranda stopped smirked. She studied his face then she narrowed her eyes. She got dangerously close to his face. Naruto could smell the mint of her toothpaste in her breath. It was refreshing. He gulped.

Miranda brought one finger up to his face and ran it across his whisker marks. She looked at the finger then, rubbing the thumb against it. She moved away from Naruto who was blinking rather confused as to what she had just done. She moved right past Naruto, not saying a word. She was heading for her cabin.

Naruto glared at her back, slightly offended. "Hey! What was that?"

Miranda stopped and looked over her shoulder slightly, "Curiosity."

"What?" Naruto said jogging slightly to get closer.

Miranda turned towards him, a slightly colder look on her face. "I was curious about the marks on you face. I believed them to be fake, so I had to make sure."

Naruto blinked, but gave her a stupid, disbelieving look. "What? So you just that that I drew these on my face?"

Miranda nodded ever so slightly, "Yes."

She turned and started walking back to her cabin. Naruto followed behind her.

"Why on earth would you think that?"

Miranda stopped, the animosity in her voice was apparent. She got close to his face, "Listen to me and listen closely. There are rules on this ship and I expect them to be obeyed. I am second in command this ship only bested by Shepard. I will not tolerate insubordination. Asking me all these questions give me the idea of you questioning my leadership. I don't trust you yet so you're going to have to do a hell of a lot more than just befriending Shepard and the other assassin on this ship to even survive. Good night."

She turned around in a snap. The doors of her cabin hissed open. She turned towards him with a cold, calculating look. That's the last look Naruto saw of her face when the doors hissed shut. Naruto blinked, in a slight quandary. He turned around looking at the other wall. The room was quietly buzzing with small quiet conversations. No one noticed the intense conversation between the two of them. Naruto felt the need to escape the presence of others. He looked around and disappeared in a dulled yellow flash.

Naruto was sitting on his bed cleaning his sword. He was quiet, which was unusual for him. The door hissed open and Thane came in. He looked around the room, spotted Naruto and waved.

Naruto smiled at him. "Hey, how did things go? Especially with that Kelly chick."

Naruto wiggled his eyebrows at him, Thane smiled. "It went well; I spoke with her although I didn't even need to contribute to the conversation as much as I thought I would have. She's very…verbose."

Naruto chuckled, "I feel like you two should talk a lot more then. She'll make up for the silence you tend to leave in a conversation."

Thane smiled, at him. But he lowered his head. Naruto looked at him, a friendly look on his face.

"What's wrong? You seem a little morose." Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

Thane looked at Naruto, a blank look on his face. "Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me."

Naruto looked at Thane. He didn't say anything. Naruto looked over at his bedpost, at the picture of Tsunade, Sakura, Jiraiya, and him. He smiled and looked at Thane.

"I have a present for you." Naruto said as he dug around in his pack of scrolls. He took one out, and opened it. Thane watched curiously. Naruto put a drop of his blood on one of the seals and a poof exploded in the air above the seal. Naruto grabbed the object. He looked over at Thane and held it out to him.

Thane blinked and accepted the gift. It was a strange…knife. It had a main blade going straight up the middle, while two identical blades branched evenly off the side of the knife. Around the handle was a strange paper with writing and scribbles all over it. The butt of the knife was a loop. Thane inspected it closely. The black material that made the knife had a small…energy source running through it.

"What is it? I've never seen anything like this before." Thane said, as he looked over at Naruto.

Naruto smiled at him. "If you ever are in trouble, put a drop of your blood on the paper on the handle, which is a seal, and stab the ground with it."

Thane looked at him, "What does it do?"

Naruto grinned foxily, "Just remember…as long as you have that with you. I will always be with you."

Thane looked down at the knife again. He smiled, and then looked at Naruto. "Thank you."

Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "Now get out of here! People might start getting ideas. Especially with the way we're talking…"

Thane smiled as Naruto went back to sharpening his sword. He got up from the bed and left the room. Naruto watched him leave, It might have been a little weird…but he was glad he had a friend on the vessel.

He looked back at the picture and smiled, He felt a small bitterness towards Tsunade for sending him away. But he understood why she did it. Naruto shook his head and put away his sword. He got up from his bed and grabbed a nearby towel. He left the room and headed towards the showers.

Although he found it strange that they had a community shower on this ship he could understand why they would do it. The military had done it their whole existence. Naruto honestly didn't care. He wasn't raised to be ashamed of running around naked. And he also wasn't raised to not be embarrassed when he saw other people naked. This was why he was able to perfect his sexy jutsu so perfectly. In fact, the blonde haired boy hadn't even been raised. He simply survived, barely.

Naruto absently mindedly took his shower, slightly thankful that no one came in. After he was done, he dried himself off and tied his towel around himself. Cursing the fact that he forgot some clothes to change into in his room. He shrugged and left the bathroom, heading towards his quarters.

Tali was heading towards Thane's room to ask him about some previous mission based information. She was slightly tired from working with the engine the whole day. She had her head down, not paying attention to where she went. Tali turned the last corner to his room, but was halted by walking straight into a fleshy, wet, wall. She fell down. The wall didn't even move really. She blinked.

"Ow." Tali mumbled under her breath as she rubbed her butt slightly. She looked straight up, "I'm so terribly sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

She blinked and blushed, slightly embarrassed, as a hand was in her face. She grabbed it and let it help her up. She looked at who she bumped into. Naruto was standing there slightly awkward. He was grinning and scratching the back of his neck. She started to heat up when she realized all he was wearing was a towel. His dirty clothes were in his left hand.

"It's no problem, Tali. It wasn't your fault." Naruto said chuckling awkwardly and scratching the back of his neck.

Tali blushed and held her hands up slightly, "Naruto! Oh I'm so sorry! It's my fault. I was going to go speak with Thane, and I was tired from working hard all day and I wasn't looking where I was going. But I had to speak with Thane about a previous mission, I don't have any romantic interest in him at all. Sorry I'm rambling now. I ramble and talk a lot when I get embarrassed or nervous, It's a defensive mechanism I have that gets me into all sorts of trouble and such."

Naruto laughed and grabbed her shoulder with his free hand, "Hey, don't worry about it. It was an accident."

Tali looked up at him, taking a good look at him for the first time. He had his eyes closed and he was grinning slightly. She was reminded of an animal of some sorts, with the way he grinned like that and all…. She took in the rest of his body. He was a pale tan. He wasn't a pasty white, but she could tell that he was tan before he was sent away for a year to that awful cell of his. She blinked in slight shock and a strange bit of horror as she saw the scars that littered his chest and (6-pack abs she noticed with a blush) lower abdomen.

There was a circular grayish scar on the left side of his chest. Right on his pectoral. Another scar that went through his right side was a fair pink. It was a newer one but a little old. It almost looked like he was cut by a blade. Other scars that were almost gone was scattered across his body. She could tell that those were the oldest ones he had.

Tali noticed a tattoo on his lower stomach that caught her attention even more than the scars. It seemed like the tattoo had been worn off almost. Or rubbed off. It was fading in certain areas. It was hard to tell, but Tali had presumed that the tattoo had once been in the shape of a spiral. She blinked off her shock when Naruto coughed into his hand.

Tali looked at him. Naruto was looking in another direction, a small blush on his face. Tali squeaked and felt her face heat up intensely as she put her hands up again. She tried to explain herself.

"I wasn't you know…I wasn't doing that, I was just looking at your chest. Well not your chest but the scars on your chest, and - "

Naruto squeezed her shoulder, "It's alright, but you better not mention this to anyone. Rumors might get around you know? We wouldn't want that…. Well, I best be going."

With a charming smile he walked around her and into his sleeping quarters. Tali stood there blushing and totally ashamed of herself. But the meeting itself had left a curiosity about Naruto, that she has never had before. She couldn't help but feel troubled by the amount of scars he had on him. And by that tattoo, it had the strangest feeling of malice. She also noticed that it had this pulsing energy to it, an energy different to Naruto's.

Tali was going to find out about Naruto one way or another. She was determined.

"Mr. Uzumaki, Commander Shepard would like to see you in comm. Room."

Naruto looked over at the loud speakers as he lay on his bed, bored as a bored man. He sighed, "Thanks EDI, tell him I'll be there in a sec."

"As you wish, Mr. Uzumaki."

Naruto got up. He grabbed his arms above his head and bent backwards, stretching. He cracked his neck and headed for the comm. Room. He wasn't wearing his uniform at the moment, but was wearing comfortable shinobi clothes. He had on a pair of black and white sweatpants with was tapped down into his black sandals. He had on a grey muscle shirt that was ripped all the way down the side of the shirt to about an inch about the waist line, showing his muscles and his boxers. He had his black fingerless gloves on with a metal plate across the back of the hand. Naruto also decided to wear his shinobi headband although it was tilted to the side (Think Zabuza), making his blonde hair shoot off to that side. He walked with his hands behind his head.

He entered the comm. Room expecting it to just be him and the commander but was surprised to see the whole crew there. Naruto pursed his lips awkwardly. He gave a small wave to the room.

Shepard waved Naruto in. "Naruto, come here for me would you."

Naruto came in and stood next to Shepard leaning against the desk thing in the middle. "What is it, taichou?"

Shepard hesitated for a second, something a professional ninja like Naruto easily picked up. "Well… you see Naruto. I would like for you to demonstrate your fighting abilities. Some of the crew members believe that you aren't…well experienced enough to be on my crew."

Naruto showed no emotion, "You told them how I handled the Geth on my home planet right?"

Shepard shook his head, "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Naruto."

Naruto shrugged, "Well…what do I need to do?"

John stood up, crossed his arms across his chest and then leaned on one leg. "You've been challenged by a crew member to an all out spar. In our sparring room."

Naruto looked around the room and some of the unwelcoming glares, and at some of the friendly smiles. He looked at Shepard, "Who?"

Shepard cleared his throat, he didn't say anything but he looked at Naruto with an awkward stare. He pointed at someone in the room, "The biggest guy in this room, Naruto."

Naruto looked around the room, then to where Shepard was pointing. Standing there close to 9 feet tall was the Krogan. Naruto looked at Grunt up and down. He stayed emotionless, he looked back at Shepard.

"You know what they say…the bigger they are the harder they fall."

Grunt chuckled but continued to glare, "Cocky little runt ain't he?"

This time Naruto glared, "I'm no runt for my age, lizard man. I happen to be very big. I may bark loud but I tell you my bite isn't something you can just shake off."

Grunt shrugged, "I think all humans are puny little creatures. Especially you."

Naruto didn't say anything but muttered under his breath to himself, "I'm not exactly human…"

He looked at Grunt, grinned cockily, and nodded. "Sure. I accept your challenge lizard man."

Grunt pushed past everyone and looked at Naruto. He smirked, "I'll be waiting human."

Naruto watched him leave with his own smirk. He turned towards the room, "So where exactly is the sparring room?"

Naruto was standing outside the room he took off the muscle shirt in favor of a tighter under armor short sleeved one. It was tighter and allowed him room to maneuver. Naruto was doing various stretching exercises, preparing him for his big fight. He wasn't worried, about loosing or getting hurt much. He just hoped he wouldn't have to hurt the lizard man too much.

Naruto cracked his neck and his fingers. He then cracked his knuckles. He looked at the stimulation door in front of him. Grunt was on the other side waiting for him. The crew members watched in another room on a giant screen monitor. He couldn't help but feel a strange excitement within himself. it's been so long since he could actually fight another being. He grinned. He was about to go inside, when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and watched as John walked into the room. He smiled at him.

Shepard walked up to Naruto. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He nodded to the blonde. "Naruto. You're a fine warrior. But if you ever want to call off the fight don't be afraid to holler."

Naruto smirked, "You're underestimating me, taichou."

Shepard didn't smile, "Or you're underestimation Grunt. He's powerful Naruto. It's literally in his blood. After all he's a Krogan."

Naruto waved him off. "Don't worry about me taichou. I'll be fine."

Shepard didn't answer that but instead pulled out a belt of some sort. He looked at it then at Naruto. He handed it to the vessel. Naruto delicately grabbed hold of the belt feeling as though he should take care of it. He looked at Shepard confused.

The commander smiled, "It's called a shield belt. Most of our armor has those built into their suits, but since you aren't wearing any armor or any newer combat clothes. You don't have one. It works automatically when you put it on. It's not fragile so you don't have to hold it like that."

Naruto inspected it. Slightly curious. He looked at Shepard, "Why would you give it to me?"

Shepard slapped Naruto's back. "Grunt has one on also. It's an unfair advantage if you ask me."

Naruto shrugged, not complaining about the gift. He buckled the belt around his waist and immediately felt/saw a barrier of some sort appear around him. Naruto grinned at it's awesomeness. He looked at Shepard.

Shepard nodded his head and held out his hand. Naruto smiled at took it. They shook hands. Shepard smirked, "Break a leg."

Naruto grinned foxily. "Plan too."

Naruto turned towards the door and it hissed open. The room itself was….kind of strange. Random objects were placed in the room for cover. Grunt was standing directly opposite of him. The Krogan seemed slightly annoyed. Naruto grinned out of his excitement. Grunt was about to shoot Naruto right off the bat before a voice crackled through the intercom. Naruto looked up in slight interest, but not really caring.

"Please. No killing each other. No rules. Anything goes. The spar will start when I say go. Other than that, the fight will be over when the other opponent is knocked out, or gives up. There will be no killing. Or I will have your head. The fight will begin….right now."

Naruto watched as Grunt jumped to cover. He raised his eyebrow. Slightly confused why he would do that in the very beginning of this fight. Naruto watched as Grunt peeked over the edge of his cover and the Krogan pulled out his pistol. Something Naruto doesn't have much experience fighting against. Grunt shot three rounds at Naruto. Who with a surprising speed simply dodged all three of them with the bare minimum of movement.

Grunt got out of cover and started shooting at Naruto rapidly. Naruto crouched low and dodge rolled to his left. Then he felt himself get shot with one of the bullets from Grunt's gun. The shot threw him off course. And the rest of the shots pelted Naruto right in the chest. Naruto felt pain go up through his torso as he gasped for breath. Naruto dived for cover. He winced and groaned at the pain. This was not at all how he was expecting this fight to take place.

From where he was sitting on the ground Naruto heard Grunt chuckle. "So this is the menacing ninja assassin Shepard spoke so highly of? Pft. You're pathetic."

Naruto growled. This guy reminded him way to much of Sasuke. He peeked out of his cover to see Grunt standing there aiming is pistol at him. Naruto snarled. How to go about doing this? Naruto smirked. He had an idea.

Naruto created two clones in cover with him. They both knew the plan so he didn't need to tell them. One of the clones sprinted out of cover although the clone allowed Grunt to shoot him with his weapon. Naruto sent the other clone to appear behind the Krogan.

Grunt, who was shooting at one Naruto, was completely shocked when he felt a kick right in his back that hurt like a bitch. He growled and whipped his arm around at one of the Naruto's. Clone Naruto grabbed the arm and summer salted over it. The clone landed with out a sound and sent a kick at the krogan's feet. Grunt jumped over the clone and took out his shotgun in midair. He shot the clone right in the face, expecting it to be the real Naruto. However all he got was a puff of smoke.

Grunt saw a flash of yellow light to his left and was met by a fist to the face. He was sent flying backwards into the wall. Naruto was standing there holding his hand. He grinned at the downed Krogan.

"You hurt my hand you douche."

Grunt growled and pulled out an assault rifle and started firing. Naruto smirked and disappeared in a yellow flash. The Krogan yelled in frustration. He saw the flash to his right this time and immediately shot at it. What he didn't expect was Naruto behind him holding a strange blue ball.

Up in the observation deck, where the crew was watching the fight Jacob snorted.

"What is that little ball going to do to our Krogan?"

It was Samara who answered first. "Don't judge the attack based on it's size. He has a plan. And Grunt is falling right into his trap."

Naruto grinned as Grunt turned his head around just in time to see Naruto's grinning face. The blonde haired boy thrust the blue orb into Grunt's back.

"Rasengan!"

A whirling sound shot through the air as Naruto drove the blue orb into Grunt's back. Grunt cried out in pain as he exploded forward into the other wall. Naruto sat there smirking. He yelled through the dust.

"Had enough, lizard man!"

No words were spoken from the dust for a moment. But an angry war yell came from it. Naruto blinked just before a glowing white Grunt came out of the dust charging at him. Naruto swore and was going to dive out of the way. But his unpreparedness caused him to be smacked by the charging Krogan.

Naruto went flying into the other wall. But the Krogan wasn't letting up. He took out his assault rifle and shot rapidly into the dusty area where Naruto was laying on the floor. He felt the pain in his body as the bullets pelted through his shields and left welts in his skin.

Naruto flashed out of there into cover. He held his left arm feeling the blood underneath is hand, he cursed. If only this wasn't a friendly spar. He could use his sword then. And his other techniques. But sadly he wasn't allowed to kill the Krogan. Naruto cursed again.

Grunt glared around the room, "Come out human! There's no use in trying to hide!"

Naruto looked at his wound. It wasn't bad, but he assumed that the bone was fractured. He rested his head against the block of…something. What was he doing? He could totally handle this guy. But why was he fighting the way he was? Naruto growled quietly.

He started doing hand seals at a rapid pace. Naruto stood up and looked Grunt straight in the eye, and brought two curled fingers up to his mouth. He took a big gulp of air, and then spit it out.

Grunt watched with slight awe as Naruto literally spat out the biggest fireball he has ever seen. Grunt dived for the nearest cover. He hid behind it but felt the intense heat and noticed that his shields were decreasing rapidly. Grunt snarled. Naruto however smirked as he went through more hand seals. He disappeared and reappeared in front of Grunt. He waved his hand and Grunt felt a slicing pain shot through various parts of his body.

Grunt grunted (hehe) and thought viciously, "_He's controlling the elements?"_

Grunt looked up expecting Naruto to be there. But he wasn't. Grunt whirled around looking for the mop of blonde hair that belonged to Naruto. He spotted Naruto leaning against a wall. Naruto sat there smirking.

Grunt growled at the boy, "What is this trickery you have done?"

Naruto didn't say anything, but pushed himself off the wall, he pulled out a kunai from….somewhere…and started tossing it up and down. Naruto looked at Grunt, noticing the burns and blood from cuts all over his body. He smirked.

"I've been fighting you for a while now Grunt. And I have found your weaknesses. So let's make a wager."

Grunt held the assault rifle up to his face, ready to pull the trigger as Naruto stood there cocky as ever despite his injuries. Grunt noticed the bleeding in his left arm. Grunt remained quiet.

Naruto smirked, still tossing the kunai. "I bet you all of the money in my bank that I can toss this kunai up in the air. Defeat you. And by the time your on the ground, I'll have caught the kunai. After I catch the kunai…you won't get back up again for a while."

Grunt growled at started shooting at Naruto. Naruto smirked and tossed the kunai high into the air, as high as it can go. Naruto disappeared without a yellow flash. And reappeared behind Grunt, it seemed as though he started poking him randomly with two fingers. Naruto poked him first in the back of the knee. Then on his kidney, then the lung, and finally the heart. Another Naruto appeared in front of Grunt. A bigger rasengan in his hand, and thrust it into Grunt's chest. Grunt went flying.

Naruto appeared once more right in front of the wall where Grunt was going to hit and he had another rasengan in his hand. He used it to hit Grunt in the back to send him flying into the air, where another Naruto was waiting. His foot was glowing a strange redish color. The Naruto in the air smirked.

"Uzumaki combo, rasengan finish!"

Naruto did a side flip to gain momentum in his kick and planted the foot right in Grunt's gut. Grunt went flying in the ground. Naruto reappeared where he tossed the kunai up into the air, just in time to catch it before it hit the ground. Naruto smirked.

"Chalk one up for the ninja."

The smoke cleared slowly as silence blanketed the room. Naruto waited. But narrowed his eyes when he saw the silhouette of Grunt. The smoke was gone completely, showing that the Krogan had barely gotten to his feet, but was giving Naruto the biggest death glare he could muster. Naruto frowned, slightly disappointed. Grunt coughed up a small amount of blood.

The Krogan glared, "I will never surrender to a puny human like yourself. But ya did good. And I pass you as a worthy fighter."

After he finished saying that Grunt fell down to the floor unconscious. Naruto looked at him. He chuckled, shaking his head with slight admiration.

"That bastard did that on purpose. It's like he really wanted all my money…"

Naruto looked at Grunt shrugged then up at on of the camera's all around the room. He sighed, "Can I go now?"

No one answered but the door to the exit hissed open. Naruto looked at it then he looked at Grunt. Naruto felt his good sense of morals coming into play. He walked up to Grunt's body and grabbed his arm. With a grunt, Naruto hefted the Krogan over his shoulder. Naruto's legs trembled from the weight of the lizard man. Naruto puffed out the last bit of air in his lungs. A comical look of strain was on his face.

Grunt's body drowned Naruto's as the blonde haired boy was barely able to walk out the door. He continued his trudge to the medical bay, ignoring strange and shocked looks of nearby crew members. When Naruto reached the medical bay he dumped Grunt on one of the beds and collapsed on another bed.

Dr. Chakwas blinked in total surprise as she saw the two new comers come into her bay. She looked at Grunt's battered body but knew that he was stable. Then she looked at the huffing and puffing Naruto, who looked ready to pass out. She chuckled and walked over to Naruto.

She got Naruto's attention. He looked at her, breathing hard still. She smirked as she started inspecting his arm, "Is the test that the Krogan had asked to be put upon you?"

Naruto nodded. She chuckled again, "I take it you won."

Naruto nodded again. She looked at his arm. And smiled at Naruto, "Rest here for the night. Your arm should be healed by tomorrow. Although it'll be sore for the next few days because the bone is broken. The Krogan however, is stable and should be fine a little later than you. But neither of you are in danger of dieing today."

Naruto looked at her weakly, feeling a strange tiredness. "Thank you."

Naruto heard the hissing of the door at the last minute and saw the face of a man. He squinted, feeling as though he recognized him. But didn't have enough time to think about the blonde hair and blue eyes that this man had…because Naruto fell asleep before he could realize that it was a very old friend of his…

I am sooooooooooooooooooooo sorry! It's been forever since I updated I know! But I had the end of the year school finals for school so I had to study and work for them. And then right after school ended my softball team went to state so we were non stop practicing for that, then I went to Michigan for vacation, my cousin's graduation party, and then I went to Michigan again to a CIY Move thing. But finally I am back in business. I don't have much else I'm doing with any thing so I should update MUCH faster than what I did right now. I apologize because I never meant to do that. I'm sorry. But anyway. A new chapter! Finally lol See ya next time!

Ja Ne!


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